TED Tuesday: How To Be A More Creative Person by Bill Stainton

"Brilliantly written and delivered. Funny, insightful, eye-opening, and profound. Such a deep and meaningful message wrapped up in humor and fantastic story telling."

Good Morning Folks,

Since the centerpiece of FSO's value proposition is (re)IMAGINE!, I'd thought you'd benefit from watching Multiple Emmy® award winning executive producer Bill Stainton reveal the truth about creativity.

Creativity is born when two or more ideas collide! Bill Stainton delivers an empowering TEDx Talk about  looking beyond our own limitations and collaborating with people that are different than us. What an amazing message for all of us to embrace!

What do Johnny Depp, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and a little old lady from Russia have to do with being more creative?  More important, how can they help you tap into your own creative genius?

Bill Stainton believes that when we isolate ourselves from ideas, experiences, and people that are “different,” we are robbing ourselves, our businesses, our communities, and our world of the creative ideas that are essential to solving our biggest challenges. Only by becoming less isolationist—by “cracking our cocoon” and embracing people and experiences that may at first seem “weird”—will we discover the connections that can lead to breakthrough ideas.

Have a look:

Bill Stainton, you had me at HELLO with that awesome opening line, and I was riveted throughout. Brilliant, such a simple and powerful idea to connect different ideas and with different people. My fondest wish is that this talk is shared generously so others around the world can be inspired to connect the dots and make new connections that inspire creativity and make a fabulous impact.

Thank you for delivering it with such flair and passion. 

Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Ted Tuesday: Dr. Dan Gilbert— The Surprising Science of Happiness

"Gilbert's elbow-in-the-ribs social-science humor is actually funny. ... But underneath the goofball brilliance, he has a serious argument to make about why human beings are forever wrongly predicting what will make them happy." 

~~ New York Times Book Review

Good Morning Folks,

I woke up this beautiful morning I wanted to share an inspirational Ted Talk with all of you. When you watch it you may wonder why you hadn't heard of this before, or better yet be surprised that over a million people have already watched it (between YouTube and Ted postings alone). That's the power of Ted.

Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned.

Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone's eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.

The premise of his current research -- that our assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience. But his delivery is what sets him apart. His engaging -- and often hilarious -- style pokes fun at typical human behavior and invokes pop-culture references everyone can relate to. This winning style translates also to Gilbert's writing, which is lucid, approachable and laugh-out-loud funny. The immensely readable Stumbling on Happiness, published in 2006, became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages.

Dr. Gilbert asks us to imagine two different futures ... One, winning the lottery (yes, I like this ... I will buy a plane, and maybe an island suitable for the construction of a landing strip ... and definitely a sail boat, a small one ... I will recreate the Corona ad and learn to enjoy beer or at least ice cold limeade ... ). The other is become paraplegic.  (No thanks.)

He informs us that "Happiness" data has been collected on these two different groups.

"Because the fact is that a year after losing the use of their legs, and a year after winning the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives."



The lesson I want to leave you with from these talk is that our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we seek.

What an inspiration Gilbert is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

We are pumped, super excited and ready to rock.

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Ted Tuesday: Julian Treasure— ‘How to Speak So That People Want to Listen’

"Every human being needs to listen consciously in order to live fully."

Good Morning Folks

At FSO, listening to our clients needs is paramount to (re)IMAGINING their future. Ironically we win because our competitors fail in listening.

With that in mind and 3,591,725 combined Ted and YouTube views that have come before your own…. Julian Treasure's talk, "5 ways to listen better" is sure to enlighten you.

There are seven deadly sins of speaking, according to sound consultant Julian:

• Gossiping
• Judging
• Negativity
• Complaining
• Excuses
• Exaggeration
• Dogmatism

It can be difficult to stay away from these conversation killers, but Treasure says there are plenty of ways to make sure you don’t lose your listener. In this TED Talk, he shares tips to speak powerfully—and with a purpose.

The first step is to hail, an exercise in using honesty, authenticity, integrity and love to give your words meaning. Treasure says these things allow you to be clear in what you’re saying—to be straightforward in a way that establishes trust.

After you’ve nailed down what to say, you have to think about how to say it. That’s where the human voice comes into play. Treasure says using different vocal inflections and rates of speech can add an extra layer of meaning to your words—and really drive a point home.

“You have an amazing toolbox. This instrument is incredible, and yet this is a toolbox that very few people have ever opened,” Treasure says.

Is your voice giving you the presence you need? Here are some of the best tools in the box:

1. Register
“If you want weight, you need to go down here to the chest…. We vote for politicians with lower voices, it's true, because we associate depth with power and with authority. That's register.”

2. Timbre
“It's the way your voice feels. Again, the research shows that we prefer voices which are rich, smooth, warm, like hot chocolate.”

3. Prosody
“People who speak all on one note are really quite hard to listen to if they don't have any prosody at all. That's where the word monotonic comes from, or monotonous, monotone.”

4. Pace and Pitch
“I can get very excited by saying something really quickly, or I can slow right down to emphasize…. Of course, pitch often goes along with pace to indicate arousal."

5. Volume
“I can get really excited by using volume…. Or, I can have you really pay attention by getting very quiet. Some people broadcast the whole time. Try not to do that.”

By teaching the next generation to listen and to be empathetic, they will have a better chance at creating an understanding world, and ultimately a more peaceful world.

“Conscious listening creates a world of connection, of understanding and of peace.”

Watch Julian’s talk here:

Thanks to Success magazine for their insights that contributed to this post, to TED and most of all to you for listening. 

Let's all go make things happen today. I look forward to seeing you soon.


Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Why (re)IMAGINING (aka Change) Is Difficult

"We are either breaking out of our spirit depleting routines and breaking through to new insights and experiences, or we are breaking down."  

Good Morning Folks,

Why do our clients love us? 

Because everyday we do a little more than the expected. 

Everyday we open our eyes to see what else we can do to serve, to make our presence known, solve problems, and to help our client. 

Everyday we smile, say good morning, and make someone feel good about themselves. 

Everyday we (re)IMAGINE!

(re)IMAGINE is not just something we do... It is who we are. (re)IMAGINE is that skip, fire and twinkle; the clean, pressed career apparel; the morning smile! (re)IMAGINE is alive and well every time you do a little more. Think through a problem, go the extra mile, do more than expected, provide a solution... (re)IMAGINE!

But it's not easy to change. 

G. K. Chesterton wrote, "If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution."

Without intervention, without progressive change, without revolution, everything in our work and our lives gets worse. Our bodies degrade, our relationships fizzle, our jobs disappear, and our ideas become obsolete (it has happened to countless organizations and to some of my friends). 

Face it: We are either breaking out of our spirit depleting routines and breaking through to new insights and experiences, or we are breaking down.  

To want to look for new and different, and perhaps, more sustainable ways of doing things is one of the hardest skills to master in business. Master Sales Blogger Anthony Iannarino puts it this way:

"Change is more difficult than you believe. Having an intellectual understanding the reason something needs to change isn’t enough. An emotional need to change is necessary and more powerful. 

Change is psychological. You first have to have a shift in your mindset, your personal philosophy, your personal psychology. Without that shift, there will be no change. 

Why something is being changed is more important than how that change is accomplished. 

Change takes longer than you believe. It takes longer to sell, longer to build consensus, and longer to execute before results are seen. It is mistake to believe the results of change will be realized quickly, even though change happens in a second. 

Change comes with built-in enemies. The very fact that you are trying to make change will cause some to oppose you. Resistance is your enemy when you try to change yourself. 

Most change initiatives die not because the idea isn’t good or necessary but because it was poorly executed. The change is usually poorly executed because it lacks executive engagement. People are exceptionally gifted at waiting out change initiatives. 

We overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time and underestimate what we accomplish over a longer period. When results don’t come fast, change initiatives are often abandoned. The better results were only a little bit further. 

Sometimes change initiatives fail because too many variables are changed at once. One major change might have been enough to produce a result, but because so much was attempted, nothing really changed. When too much is changed, you can’t easily figure out what is working and what isn’t. 

Radical change very quickly becomes the new status quo. It soon develops its own defenders who protect it from future change."

So .. when the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone screams at you, and it will definitely come, take it. Say no to the sure thing and say yes to a creative challenge. Say no to short-term, comfort producing activities, and say yes to fear and passion.

Today, team, lets 's do what's makes us unique and what makes us the best outsourcing company on the planet, go (re)IMAGINE and do a little more. It is that little more, that (re)IMAGINE, that creates clients that love us, creates growth, creates opportunities, creates more clients. (re)IMAGINE today!

Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"The world steps aside to let any man pass if he knows where he is going."
~~ David S. Jordan
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Inspire ME Friday: 15 Things You’ll Regret When You’re Older

"Supporting others' dreams over your own is a recipe for regret"

Good Morning Folks,

It's the end of another solid week of progress at FSO. I am so proud of our team. How you go the extra mile, and of how you bend over backwards to deliver the full "white-Glove" treatment. 

As we head into the weekend, remember that everything we want to achieve is in our grasp! Everything we dream about can happen. We just have to have the conviction to go get it. We have to have the heart to make it happen and the desire to put forth the effort.

Here's today's dose of Friday inspiration. It's one of those advice columns you bookmark  and will refer back to it many times, and whenever you need a "lift".

1. Not traveling when you had the chance.
Traveling becomes infinitely harder the older you get, especially if you have a family and need to pay the way for three-plus people instead of just yourself.

2. Not learning another language.
You’ll kick yourself when you realize you took three years of language in high school and remember none of it.

3. Staying in a bad relationship.
No one who ever gets out of a bad relationship looks back without wishing they made the move sooner.

4. Forgoing sunscreen.
Wrinkles, moles, and skin cancer can largely be avoided if you protect yourself.

5. Missing the chance to see your favorite musicians.
“Nah, dude, I’ll catch Nirvana next time they come through town.” Facepalm.

6. Being scared to do things.
Looking back you’ll think, What was I so afraid of?

7. Failing to make physical fitness a priority.
Too many of us spend the physical peak of our lives on the couch. When you hit 40, 50, 60, and beyond, you’ll dream of what you could have done.

8. Letting yourself be defined by gender roles.
Few things are as sad as an old person saying, “Well, it just wasn’t done back then.”

9. Not trying harder in school.
It’s not just that your grades play a role in determining where you end up in life. Eventually you’ll realize how neat it was to get to spend all day learning, and wish you’d paid more attention.

10. Not realizing how beautiful you were.
Too many of us spend our youth unhappy with the way we look, but the reality is, that’s when we’re our most beautiful.

11. Being afraid to say “I love you.”
When you’re old, you won’t care if your love wasn’t returned — only that you made it known how you felt.

12. Not listening to your parents’ advice.
You don’t want to hear it when you’re young, but the infuriating truth is that most of what your parents say about life is true.

13. Spending your youth self-absorbed.
You’ll be embarrassed about it, frankly.

14. Caring too much about what other people think.
In 20 years you won’t give a damn about any of those people you once worried so much about.

Thank you for all the amazing communications of late, which inspire me, and I promise to keep the inspiration at FSO at the highest levels possible. 

I am excited because I know that FSO is better. I have visited competitive sites, FSO sites and in-house sites in the past week, and we are the best!

Nothing is going to stop us. You are the right people at the right time to make something great. So have NO regrets, and let’s make 2016 our best yet.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Refreshing Weekend,

Love Life! Mitchell D. Weiner Chief Happiness Officer

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“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!” 
–Audrey Hepburn.
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Inspire ME Friday: (re)IMAGINE: When The Opportunity To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Screams at You, Take It!

"Don't be stuck. Don't be confused. It's really simple: Your life's purpose is the quality of your life's experiences. Living life with passion is following your passion."

Good Morning Folks,

I meet so many new and interesting people by blogging. That explains how Tom came into my world and now your world today.

Tom Asacker has been teaching and inspiring organizations and entrepreneurs for over 20 years. World-class brands including Procter & Gamble, UPS, and G.E. have called on Tom, a renowned speaker and strategic advisor to shake up their audience, fill them with ideas and charge them with inspiration.

Today he shares a story we can all relate to and advises "forget about the reality of the economy and instead focus on your reality."

==> Breakout, breakthrough or breakdown by Tom Asacker 

I'll never forget an enlightening conversation with college friends back in the economic heydays of the 90s. It has stuck with me for the past fifteen years and often helps inform my decision-making, especially during uncertain times like these.

As we relaxed and enjoyed a Labor Day cookout, and our good health and fortune, I spurted out that I was, once again, venturing into the great marketplace unknown.

At the time we were all disengaged yet seemingly secure in executive positions with established organizations, unquestioningly embracing the status quo.

Upon hearing my news, one bewildered friend glanced at me, shook his head from side to side, and professed, "I could never do what you do."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You know," he answered, pausing to sip his imported beer. "Risking it all."

"Risking it all?" I replied. "It's you who are 'risking it all.' And for what it's worth," I continued. "I could never do what you guys are doing."

What they were doing, what many are still doing, was playing it safe instead of playing it with passion. And by "playing it with passion," I don't mean "following" ones passion. I've never "followed my passion," because, frankly, I have no idea what my singular passion is.

Perhaps it's why I'm so amused by comedian Mitch Hedberg's absurd declaration: "I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later." But why follow them? Why hook up with them? Why not be the leader of your life and let your dreams hook up with you?

Don't be stuck. Don't be confused. It's really simple: Your life's purpose is the quality of your life's experiences. Living life with passion is following your passion.

Unfortunately, most people believe that passion will mysteriously appear, or that the purpose of life is the pursuit of comfort. They view life as a waiting game with a series of problems to avoid, rather than an exciting game with the clock ticking and opportunities to pursue.

Comfort is an illusion; a fantasy that imagines freedom from pain and suffering if only we stay still and avoid change. What most fail to realize, typically until it's very late in the game, is that change happens to us whether we like it or not.

G. K. Chesterton wrote, "If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution."

Without intervention, without progressive change, without revolution, everything in our work and our lives gets worse. Our bodies degrade, our relationships fizzle, our jobs disappear, and our ideas become obsolete (it has happened to countless organizations and to most of my friends). 

Face it: We are either breaking out of our spirit depleting routines and breaking through to new insights and experiences, or we are breaking down.

When the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone screams at you, and it will definitely come, take it. Say no to the sure thing and say yes to a creative challenge. Say no to short-term, comfort producing activities, and say yes to fear and passion.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Refreshing Weekend,

Love Life! Mitchell D. Weiner Chief Happiness Officer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . 
“Businesses struggle when they look at the same things in 
the same old way. Businesses succeed from coming up with 
new ways of putting old things together."
-- Bruce Turkel 
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Inspire ME Friday: "Now Is No Time To Think Of What You Do Not Have"

(re)IMAGINE: Fearlessness that is so vital to the exploration of new ground and the pushing of boundaries that lead to growth and profitability

Good Morning Folks, 

What follows are twelve wishes for those that lead, serve or work on a team.

I wish for you and your team the...

* Healthy Challenges required to keep you on your toes, while growing the business and creating a business environment that enables you to flourish;

* Strength to get through the toughest of those challenges and come out the other side better for them;

* Trust needed to pull together and successfully work through whatever trials and tribulations the business world throws your way;

* Drive necessary to always do your best, regardless of the situation or circumstances that the team finds itself in;

* Grace that is essential to managing through the occasional mistakes that occur when doing you are doing your best;

* Fearlessness that is so vital to the exploration of new ground and the pushing of boundaries that lead to growth and profitability;

* Willingness to learn the new things needed to develop additional skills and capabilities requisite to compete;

* Willingness to change so to adopt new ways of "thinking and doing" that is compulsory for gaining market share;

* Confidence to overcome unforeseen adversities that are inevitable in today's global marketplace;

* Passion to deliver innovative products and impeccable services that set your firm apart from the rest;

* Wisdom to make the right decisions when confronted with an abundance of options that often serve to baffle and confuse a less experienced team;

* Sense of humor so crucial to getting through work life's daily frustrations, while building the camaraderie desired for ongoing success.

May you and your team find good health and prosperity you deserve.

There is never a guarantee of tomorrow, so show the love now. 

Thanks to James M. Kerr for today's inspiration and to you for listening.

Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Owen

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"Now is no time to think of what you do not have. 
Think of what you can do with what there is." 
~~ Ernest Hemingway 
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Ted Tuesday: Sir Ken Robinson— How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

Good Morning Folks,

As I woke up this morning I wanted to share another inspiring @Ted talk with you.

The Sir Ken Robinson @Ted talk that follows is one of my all time favorites. It reminds me of a book which I also highly recommend called "Finding Your Element: "How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life" which you can find at Amazon.

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video and groundbreaking book introduced readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. The book has inspired readers all over the world and has created for Robinson an intensely devoted following. Among the questions that this new book answers are:

• How do I find out what my talents and passions are?
• What if I love something I’m not good at?
• What if I’m good at something I don’t love?
• What if I can’t make a living from my Element?
• How do I do help my children find their Element?

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Sir Ken Robinson:

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

“Creativity is as important as literacy”

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.” 

 “We have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.” 

“Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent not a singular conception of ability. and at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and intelligence” 

In his talk that follows which counts 26 million views on Ted.com alone, Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.



What an inspiration Sir Ken is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

I could not help to be completely Inspired by the great teams and clients we have - so much passion and commitment to greatness and so much opportunity for all.

Nobody and I mean nobody will take CARE of the their customers or employees like FSO USA. 

So good morning. Get those inspiration hats on, put those smiles on, and lets rock the world together. 

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

FSO's Bright Stars Shine at CHO Club

"The monthly CHO club provides the perfect platform to award, recognize and incentivize our top performers."

Good Morning Folks,

Our job in hospitality is to make the client feel as if they are at home and create memories and experiences that want to make clients "return."  As important as it is to take care of our clients, it is equally important to take care of all of our team members. The more enthusiastic and happy our employees are at work the more productive they will be. Without the support of each team member that “WOW” factor will never be given to our clients.

Along with the multiple on-the-spot recognition and award programs we execute and deliver on at all our sites, I as Founder, Chief Happiness Officer and CEO host a recurring monthly CHO Club to personally thank and recognize our field staff who have gone above and beyond the call. 

This week our CHO Club convened fore Happy Hour at Tonic East in Manhattan. It was great for employees to share strategies and ideas with peers, as well as to meet new people, and have some FaceTime with Executive Leadership. As you can see we had tons of fun....

Folks like those welcomed into CHO Club and given a shout out here truly personify the FSO experience and pleasant demeanor that keep our client's office running like a well-oiled machine. These folks come to work each with a big smile on their face ready to help anyone out.  

To other companies reading this: Rewards are both earned and learned... so spread it on thick. Love on your workforce when they deserve it .... they will surely want to repeat the experience. As Richard Branson says: "If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers."

Spread the word. Our next next “thank you event” of the year is just around there corner. Membership in the club is awarded based on ideas, strategies and cost savings suggested to the client and kudos received from clients.

Good luck to all of our employees and see you there. 

THANKS for all you do each and every single day, as I look forward to seeing all of you soon in my travels.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life" 

~~ John Lennon

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